Sufferin' Succotash Poem by Percy Dovetonsils

sufferin' succotash

"suffering is the root of all consciousness"- -Dostoyevsky

My best poems
are born
when my heart is laid bare,
is flayed,
beating,
from my living body,
and bounced around
like a super ball
while I desperately,
clumsily,
chase it
and try to stuff it
back in my chest.

No one in his right mind
would volunteer
for such experiences.
But I can't always,
try as I might,
avoid them.

Out of their pain
are born
my better poems,
for the pain
makes me
better
than myself.